Stephan Elliott, the imaginative
director of the 1994 cult classic The Adventures
of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert has been
absent from the helmer’s seat for too long.
He decided to retire from films after the 2000 studio
experience Eye of the Beholder (guess a
Hollywood movie will do that to a guy) and then
proceeded to ski off a cliff and break his back,
neck and legs (guess…nah, too easy!)

The good news is that he is fully
recovered in every sense and has made a wickedly
refreshing and splendid new film of Noel Coward’s
1924 play.

Coward was only twenty-three when
he wrote Easy Virtue and there has only
been one screen adaptation—by Alfred Hitchcock
in 1928--a silent version meaning all the wonderful
and witty repartee’ became moot on the big
screen.

Elliott has adapted the play quite
marvelously with Sheridan Jobbins keeping true to
Coward’s spirit but giving the film a modern
feel. He’s even taken a few contemporary songs
and, anachronistically, rerecorded them to evoke
the 1920s. Like Baz Lurhmann, Elliott is an edgy
and original showman who likes to take risks with
his images and his soundtrack. Here they pay off
smashingly.

Easy Virtue is the story
of the end of an era—and in Coward’s
mind, good riddance to it! The target: the upper
class British landowners with their Victorian judgmental
morals and surface smiles holding steadfastly to
their traditions while raising a generation of children
who could not wait to hop into the burgeoning jazz
age where a more egocentric notion of living was
beginning to dominate.

The Whittaker family embodies
this dichotomy to perfection.

The matriarch, played brilliantly
by Kristin Scott Thomas, is a woman desperate to
hold onto to her family and their values—as
well as the land that has been her family for seven
generations. In the hands of a lesser actress this
could have easily been a villainous campy bitch
that we laughed at and hated. The genius of Scott
Thomas’ performance is that we actually sympathize
with her and sometimes, actually root for her—something
Coward may not have intended but the nuance works
so well.

Colin Firth masterfully portrays
Mr. Whittaker, a man whose soul died during the
war and, consequently, has--in Firth’s words--“gone
slightly feral.” The actor has a particularly
poignant scene where he describes his war experience.

Their only son, John (played nicely
by Ben Barnes who, in another era, could have been
a matinee idol with the likes of Tyrone Power and
Errol Flynn) has returned home and brought with
him his new, and completely inappropriately free-spirited
American wife, played by the gorgeous Jessica Biel.
Let the verbal sparks begin!

Biel is problematic. A Winslet
or Blanchett (with perfect American accents) could
have brought the strong sense-of-self necessary
to pull off this difficult and challenging role.
And to Biel’s credit she does succeed occasionally--especially
in her endscene. But she is out of her depth with
the likes of Firth and Scott Thomas.

Easy Virtue is a hilarious
and satiric comment on a particularly fascinating
time that resonates today. The production values
are first rate and Elliott’s frenetic and
bedazzling directorial style will enchant and envelop
you.

I went into Paola Mendoza &
Gloria La Morte’s Entre Nos without
reading any press notes and knowing nothing about
the film—except that it was in Spanish. And
I am so happy I did! So read no further and simply
see this gem with sleeper potential written all
over it.

Okay, you didn’t listen
to me!

Entre Nos is based on
the true travails of Mendoza’s mother, a Colombian
woman who emigrated to the U.S. with her two children,
joining her husband, so they could have the proverbial
‘better life’ in America. Their world,
however, turns into a harrowing nightmare when,
after only two weeks in the land of opportunity,
the husband decides to abandon his family, leaving
them with a few dollars and an apartment that has
three months rent due.

What follows is an absorbing tale
of survival as Mariana does what she must to hold
her family together and, ultimately, triumph.

As portrayed by Mendoza, Mariana
is a strong and resilient woman fueled by her own
grit and determination. It’s an extraordinary
performance, made even more impressive by the fact
that she’s basically playing her own mother
in a film she has co-written and co-directed and
dedicated to her mom. Not being privy to that knowledge
I was able to truly appreciate the actress instead
of being bogged down with the triple-duty facts.

Newcomers Sebastian Villada Lopez
and Laura Montana Cortez give wonderfully naturalistic
performances as Mariana’s kids and Lopez has
the heartbreaking yet uplifting last line in the
film.

There were a few holes that should
have been filled--regardless of the real story--if
only for narrative cohesion, specifically, giving
us a clue as to why the father left. We are only
given a small hint at the beginning. The film would
have been stronger if his journey was juxtaposed
with theirs. Instead, he is simply vilified. But
that in no way takes away from the power of this
terrific and altogether compelling film.

Steven Soderbergh is one of the
few film directors working today who continues to
challenge himself and his audience. His films are
certainly entertaining but he is an artist first
and foremost.

The Girlfriend Experience
is a fascinating character study that never judges
its players. It does attempt, in non-pretentious
fashion, to psychoanalyze them and that’s
part of what makes the movie a joy to behold. Soderbergh
and his writers, Brian Koppelman and David Levien
who wrote the smashingly subversive Ocean’s
13, are concerned with uncovering the delusional
behavior of Chelsea and Chris—conscious and
otherwise.

The time is pre-election, economic
meltdown 2008 and the filmmakers have much fun with
these two important elements. Soderbergh’s
gift for deft satire and metaphor work brilliantly
as he shows us a few days in the life of a self-made
“capitalist.”

Chelsea is a “sophisticated”
call girl who provides her clients with what they
need: sex, someone who will listen to their daily
problems and sometimes simply company. She never
forgets to ask about the wife and kids and seems
forever concerned that her clients are satisfied.

As played by popular porn star
Sasha Grey (who is only 21 and has over 80 adult
film titles under her belt), Chelsea seems like
a strong, willful, cool and intelligent girl—a
Bree Daniels for the new millennium (Jane Fonda’s
groundbreaking performance in Alan J. Pakula seminal
1971 film Klute.) Yet as Soderbergh’s
genius non-linear narrative unfolds/envelops/exposes
we realize how insecure, frightened, narcissistic
and borderline vapid Chelsea really is.

Chelsea is in a ‘committed’
relationship with Chris (Chris Santos), a sexy and
ambitious personal trainer always looking to better
himself financially. The relationship, with governing
rules, seems to work until Chelsea decides she wants
to go away for the weekend with a married screenwriter—
seemingly to further her own writing career—something
Chris will not stand for.

Santos has great screen appeal
and bears a striking resemblance to James Marsden.
This is his first feature film.

Soderbergh’s directorial
style is deliberately docu-invasive; some of his
shots have an intentional webcam-static feel about
them forcing the viewer into peeping tom mode. And
since he also shot and cut the film (under his typical
pseudonyms) he is able to precisely weave Chelsea’s
tale in his own masterful way, by stripping away
(permission to pun) at the illusions she puts forth.

One of the many themes The
Girlfriend Experience tackles is that of criticism
and the notion of who is qualified to judge. Soderbergh
has been unjustly vilified for some of the edgier
choices he’s made in his eclectic 20-year
career. In a particularly uncomfortable scene, Chelsea
has a meeting with a sleazy, disgusting “critic,”
played by a hilarious Glenn Kenny, who labels himself
the Erotic Connoisseur. He manages to manipulate
her into a freebie and proceeds to tear her sexual
performance apart in a scathing online review read
over the visual of street singers performing, “Everyone’s
a Critic.”

The final scene in the film is
powerful in what it has to say about human needs
and how simple they can be.

Soderbergh loves the film medium
and keeps breaking rules, pushing boundaries and,
even, working within accepted genres, but he is
always exploring. And let’s thank the cinema
gods for that!

Darko Lungulov’sHere & There2009 Tribeca Film Festival

Reviewed
by Frank J. Avella

Eerily reminiscent of last year’s
indie hit, The Visitor, Darko Lungulov’s
sweet and evocative film Here & There,
centers on Robert, a likeable yet misanthropic loner
played by the perfectly brittle David Thornton,
who is being tossed out of his apartment and forced
to stay with a very bitchy Cyndi Lauper. While moving
out of his place, he strikes up an unlikely business
relationship with the mover, Branko (an excellent
Branislav Trifunovic), who seems to have the solution
to Robert’s financial woes.

Robert agrees to fly to Serbia
and marry Branko’s girlfriend so she can attain
a “fiancé visa” so they can live
together in America. But Robert's life permanently
changes when he meets and falls in love with Branko’s
lovely mother, Olga (Mirjana Karanovic, the film’s
heart). The movie crosscuts the back and forth (here
and there) of Branko’s difficulties in the
U.S. with Robert and Olga’s atypical courtship
in Serbia.

What would normally be seen as
predictable material is transformed into a fascinating
character study by writer/director Lungulov and
the actors take it to an even greater level of originality.

Lauper’s character is only
seen briefly at the beginning of the film which
is a shame because she’s makes an indelible
impression. We do get to hear her sing the terrific
title song as the end credits roll.

Armando
Iannucci’sIn the Loop2009 Tribeca Film Festival

Reviewed
by Frank J. Avella

Not since Barry Levinson’s
Wag the Dog, in 1997, has a motion picture
brilliantly captured the true redundancy of political
satire. In the Loop, a bold, abrasive new
comedy courtesy of the UK, cleverly sends up the
maneuverings and machinations of the leaders of
the two most powerful nations on the planet (or
the two nations that think they have the most power
anyway…)

The film grew out of the BBC series
The Thick of It and is deftly written by
director Armando Iannucci, Jesse Armstrong, Simon
Blackwell and Tony Roche, with additional dialogue
by Ian Martin.

The lunatic narrative (which warrants
repeat viewings to totally appreciate and savor)
explodes when Britain’s Secretary of State
for International Development, Simon Foster (a perfectly
befuddled and dundercloddish Tom Hollander), has
the audacity to suggest that war in the Middle East
is “unforeseeable.” This tears the lid
off a can of political worms that slithers crazy
and pisses many folks in the warmongering government
off. Foster attempts to backpeddle and spin his
gaffe at a press conference declaring, “Britain
must be ready to climb the mountains of conflict.”
Gleefully, the Americans enter the picture and the
Strangelovian plot festers and kicks into zany gear.

The acting is sensational with
a cast of seasoned pros that complement one another.
James Gandolfini is particularly hilarious as an
off-kilter US General. But the film belongs to Peter
Capaldi. As spin-doctor extraordinaire, Malcolm
Tucker, Capaldi gives a relentlessly furious performance
so enjoyable it should be criminal! His nasty and
searing line deliveries are some of the funniest
movie moments I have seen in eons. Someone get this
guy a gold statue…or his own HBO show!

Midway through the film, a debate
ensues about increasing the number of troops. Gandolfini’s
burly General argues the need for the escalation
explaining: “At the end of the war, you need
some troops left or it looks like you’ve lost.”
How do you argue with that kind of frighteningly
illogical logic?

McConaughey seemed so bent (no
pun intended) on proving just how heterosexual he
is in Ghosts that he forgot to read the
horrific script.

Vardalos penned the first two
screenplays but with My Life in Ruins,
should have either forced her own rewrite…or
simply passed.

As a screen actress Vardalos is
appealing enough. She’s quite winning and
can easily charm the viewer, even with her new Hollywood
makeover. The problem is the movie is loaded with
cheap jokes, clichés galore, a predictable
narrative and one-dimensional characters. The only
thing the film has going for it, besides Vardalos,
is the gorgeous Greek settings— although the
photography in Mamma Mia! captured Greece
more magnificently.

The paint-by-numbers plot has
Georgia (Vardalos) working for a travel agency (shades
of Greek Wedding) as a tour guide and being
forced to deal with every conceivable stereotype
tourist. There’s a hot Greek bus driver named
Poupi Kaka (yes, these are the type of jokes) who
has it for the oblivious Georgia, the wise Jewish
widow (an annoying Richard Dreyfuss) and a host
of other characters you wouldn’t ever want
to be stuck anywhere with. Of course, by the film’s
end, everyone loves everyone and have all learned
valuable life lessons from one another. Gag!

And if all that wasn’t bad
enough, the homophobic portrait of Greek gays is
as sad as it is offensive.

Poorly directed by Donald Petrie
from an abysmal script by Mike Reiss, My Life
in Ruins is a film in shambles.

Go see Star Trek instead.

Kirby Dick’sOutrage2009 Tribeca Film Festival

Reviewed
by Frank J. Avella

Kirby Dick tackled the ridiculous
and prehistoric motion picture rating’s board
in his compelling documentary, This Film is
Not Yet Rated. Now he’s focused on closeted
gay politicians in the smart and incisive new film
Outrage.

Don’t let the air of self-importance
and the “brilliantly orchestrated conspiracy”
pronouncement scare you. Dick does a damn good job
or making a case for outing these latent politicos
since they are doing damage to “out”
gays by voting against every pro-gay piece of legislation.

The film opens with former New
Jersey governor Jim McGreevey discussing the difficulty
of being true to who you are when you’re in
public office and ends with the remarkable Harvey
Milk asking every gay person to come out. In between,
Dick constructs a fascinating and thought-provoking
patchwork of the toll the closet takes on many a
public figure as well as the tremendous hypocrisy
involved in remaining in the closet and needing
to prove you are not gay by going to the extreme
of harming them.

The film features now notorious
bathroom granddaddy, Senator Larry Craig, and his
constant denials as well as his proclamations of
homosexuality as a sin—with his wife staunchly
by his side (“Is she insane?” an interviewee
wonders).

Among the many prominent talking
heads weighing in are fun-loving Rep. Barney Frank,
activist Michelangelo Signorile, playwrights Tony
Kushner and Larry Kramer and blogger Michael Rogers,
who has made it his mission to out conservative
gay political figures.

The power of Outrage
becomes feverishly obvious when it chronicles the
saga of Florida governor and 2012 Republican presidential
hopeful Charlie Crist. His pathetic, yet dangerous
story seems to parallel that of certain Hollywood
actors—with the notable difference that he’s
voted against all gay issues his entire career (including
gays being allowed to adopt as well as hate crime
legislation), and thus helps deny gays their rights.

One of the most important points
that Dick makes is that the mainstream media does
not bother to probe these stories, they actually
help in covering them up (again mirroring Hollywood
and the media) which makes them complicit in homophobia.

Outrage is a timely and
significant work. Here’s hoping the media
as well as everyday citizens take notice.

Carlos Cuaron’sRudo y Cursi2009 Tribeca
Film Festival

Reviewed by Frank J.
Avella

Rudo y Cursi is a deceptive
little film.

I was excited to see it because
the writer/director, Carlos Cuaron, co-wrote the
screenplay for the extraordinary Y Tu Mama Tambien
which starred Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna.
But midway through Rudo, I began to question
some of the more obvious and cliché choices
being made by the cast and director as well as some
of the plot contrivances.

When it ended, however, I realized
how clever the film actually is. Rudo y Cursi
is an unapologetic, satiric and nasty little parable
about two brothers who find themselves in competition
with one another--bringing out the worst in both.

Luna and Bernal play Beto and
Tato Verdusco. They work on a banana plantation
and play soccer in their spare time, earning the
nicknames “tough” and “corny”
(Rudo y Cursi). Beto’s dream is to
be a professional soccer player while Tato wants
to be a famous singer (leading to some of the most
hilarious moments in the film). Tato is chosen by
a soccer scout to go to Mexico City (via a misunderstanding
with his brother) which makes Beto feel betrayed.
Tato achieves success and soon Beto is also playing
soccer professionally. The brothers become rivals
and must work through the mess that fame has brought
them.

In his first directorial feature,
Cuaron proves he knows exactly what he’s doing,
working within accepted filmic norms to tell his
tale of the dangers of success and how jealousy
can destroy.

Rudo is the personification of
envy and dissatisfaction. When he finally gets what
he wants, he is driven to gamble it all away.

Cursi’s downfall is brought
about because he buys into the superficiality success
can bring: material possessions and a hot TV starlet
who can give a shit about him but loves what he
stands for and how much he’s worth.

Bernal, always the more likeable of the two, is
a delight—especially when he is singing (badly!)
It would have been nice to see Luna play the sweetie
for a change and have Bernal take on the role of
the scumbag but they work well together regardless.

Rudo y Cursi is one of
the few films I have seen that show just how mean
and fickle sports fans can be—especially soccer
fans. It’s an enjoyable pic that has some
incisive things to say. I was especially thrilled
with how and where the brothers end up.

Woody Allen has returned (briefly?)
from his sojourn abroad where he produced the Oscar
winning Vicky Cristina Barcelona (arguably
one of his finest films), the charming English sisters
- March Point and Scoop and the
less-charming-but-still good English crime film
Cassandra's Dream. Allen has returned to
the world of Manhattan Jewish angst he so beautifully
memorialized in films such as Annie Hall,
Manhattan, Hannah and her Sisters
and Crimes and Misdemeanors.

Allen has obviously determined
that he is too old to star in a romantic comedy
and has picked a younger man to play his normal
role - Larry David. Yes, Larry David.

The film opens with Larry David's character Boris
(a once famous physicist, now a complaining has
been) jumping from the window of his then wife Jessica's
(Carolyn McCormick) apartment. And no, they did
not have a fight. All the conflicts in this film
are pretty much held inside Boris's head.

Boris and Jessica split up and
Boris moves down town into one of those apartments
that look down-at-the-mouth to non-New Yorkers but
epitomize the loft-of-your-dreams to most Manhattanites.
There, one night, he finds a waif, Melody (played
by Evan Rachel Wood), on his doorstep. Melody is
fleeing a stagnant life in Baptist Mississippi (who
wouldn't?). Boris reluctantly lets her into his
apartment and from there into his life. And like
sand in an oyster, Melody becomes both a spiritual
and comedic stimulus for Boris's life.

And with Melody comes change.
Boris becomes slightly more pleasant and his adorable
prodigy Melody starts sprouting the angst drive
pap she has learned from her mentor. More change
arrives/ occurs when Melody's mother Marietta (played
by Patricia Clarkson) and her father John (played
by Ed Begley Jr.) arrive on Boris's doorstep. Marietta
and John have been searching for their wayward daughter
and when Melody informs them that she is married
to Boris (yes, yes, this is what happens) and will
not leave, they stay.

The next part of the film is a
poem about the magic of Manhattan, an island which
can and has changed the lives of so many immigrants
whether from Bosnia or Mississippi. Freed from the
fundamentalist Christianity of the rural South,
Marietta and Boris quickly join the world of New
York City bohemia. Marietta in particular, makes
some bizarrely funny life style choices.

Whatever Works is one
of Allen's good films, not one of the great ones.
He is revisiting the world of Manhattan
and Annie Hall, but to lesser effect. Much
of this lesser effect is due to the ham-fisted,
one-tone acting style of Larry David. David does
not ruin the film, he just seems to have wondered
onto the stage from the Curb Your Enthusiasm
set next door. Wood and Clarkson, however, give
beautifully tuned performances as a mother and daughter
who have pulled up their Southern roots and transplanted
their lives in the city of dreams. Allen has a gift
for getting amazing performance from women, much
of which is probably due to the fact that he also
writes incredible roles for the women in his films.

The real star of this film is
Manhattan , as it is in all of Allen's New York
based films. Whatever's Manhattan is a
city of endless possibilities, where a beautiful
waif can arrive on bitter old man's doorstep, where
a southern matriarch can become a star of the Manhattan
art scene, where good old boys can become happier
and gayer than before, where a chance meeting in
a coffee shop can result in love and where a man
can jump out of a window (again) and land in an
entire new world on top of a brand new love (Helena,
played by Jessica Hecht).

The Whatever Works in
the title means seize the day, find your happiness
where you can and in the paraphrased words of Larry
David's character,"Life is incredibly random
and almost everything depends upon luck."

Whatever Works was the opening night selection
of the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival.